* South Africa are record seven-time winners (2002, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
* Scorchers were winners in 2023, semifinalists in 2020, runners-up in 2021, group stage in 2022, semifinalists in 2024
* Angola were runners-up in 2008 and ended in group stages if last five editions (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
* South Africa ranked 55 on FIFA Ranking and 2 on CAF Ranking; Scorchers 153 and 32; Angola on 155 and 33 while Lesotho are on 177 and 40
Maravi Express
With only one team qualifying for the semifinals of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Women’s Championship 2025, Malawi Scorchers have an uphill challenge, especially in their opening Group A match against hosts and record seven-time winners, South Africa.
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The tournament gets underway in Polokwane, South Africa from Wednesday next week (February 18-March 1) opening with a match between Lesotho and Angola at 12h00 CAT before hosts South Africa take on Malawi at 15h00 CAT.
South Africa have won the title a record seven times (2002, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) while the Scorchers were winners in 2023, semifinalists in 2020, runners-up in 2021, group stage in 2022 and semifinalists in 2024.
Angola were runners-up in 2008 and ended in group stages in last five editions (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 while Lesotho have never reached knockout stages in last five editions.
South Africa are ranked 55 on FIFA Ranking and 2 on CAF Ranking; the Scorchers 153 in the world and 32 in Africa; Angola on 155 and 33 while Lesotho are on 177 and 40 on the continent.
The tournament will feature 11 teams with four each in Group A of South Africa, Malawi, Angola and Lesotho; Group B of defending champions Zambia, eSwatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana with three in Group C of Mozambique, Namibia and Namibia.
The 4th semifinalists will be determined as the best runners-up from any of the groups — thus the Scorchers standing with some chances of going through should they stumble in three of the matches.
South Africa will be looking to regain the title after last lifting the trophy in 2020 and since that triumph, they have gone on to be crowned CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON) 2022 champions and also excelled at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, in what has been a golden period for the team.
2023 champions
Malawi claimed their maiden COSAFA Women’s Championship title in 2023 when they defeated Zambia 2-1 in the final, becoming the fifth different winner of the regional crown and the fourth team in as many years to lift the trophy.
It capped an outstanding campaign inspired by Temwa Chawinga, who scored nine goals in the tournament in which they began their title run in dramatic fashion by defeating hosts South Africa 4-3 in a thrilling opening match, before emphatic victories over eSwatini (8-0) and Madagascar (3-1) that saw them finish top of their pool.
Captain Temwa Chawinga won the Player of the Tournament award
It set up a semi-final against Mozambique, which they edged 2-1, before overcoming the Copper Queens of Zambia by the same scoreline in the final.
The triumph made amends for the disappointment of finishing runners-up in 2021, when they lost 1-0 to East African guest nation Tanzania in the final. They finished as the best runners-up in their pool behind hosts South Africa, before going on to beat Banyana Banyana 3-2 in the semi-finals.
Malawi played their first international match at the 2002 COSAFA Women’s Championship but endured a tough introduction, suffering an 8-0 defeat to hosts Zambia.
They bounced back with a 3-0 win over Lesotho to record their first victory, but failed to progress to the knockout stages. They defeated Lesotho by the same scoreline at the 2006 COSAFA Women’s Championship, but a 3-0 loss to South Africa ended their semi-final hopes.
Malawi did reach the knockout rounds when the tournament was staged in 2011, finishing second in their pool, but once again came unstuck against South Africa with a 5-1 defeat in the semi-finals.
They eventually finished fourth after losing 3-0 to East African guest nation Tanzania in the bronze-medal play-off. The team experienced mixed fortunes in 2017, losing to Zambia (6-3), drawing with Zimbabwe (3-3) and recording a convincing 6-3 win over Madagascar to finish third in the pool with four points.
Malawi and South Africa during the 2023 edition
It was another mixed campaign in 2018, as a 2-0 win over Madagascar was offset by a 2-0 defeat to Botswana and a heavy 6-0 loss to South Africa.
Malawi continued to show signs of progress in 2019, but again narrowly missed out on the knockout stages. They opened with a 2-0 win over Madagascar, followed by a 3-1 loss to South Africa, before ending pool play with a team-record 13-0 victory over the Comoros Islands.
They returned to the semi-finals in 2020, beginning with a 9-0 win over Lesotho in which Tabitha Chawinga scored six goals, before edging Zambia 1-0 in the decisive match of a three-team pool.
That set up a semi-final against South Africa, but after a goalless first half, Malawi fell 6-2. In 2022, they failed to advance from their pool after beating the Comoros Islands (6-0), drawing with Botswana (1-1) and losing to Tanzania (3-1).
Following their championship success in 2023, Malawi were contenders again the following year, but their reign came to an end with a 2-0 semi-final defeat to Zambia in 2024.
Angola will be making a return to the COSAFA Women’s Championship for the seventh year running, but have not made it past the group stages in the previous six tournaments.
They had taken a hiatus from the competition before their return in 2019 and have appeared in eight of the 12 previous tournaments overall. This reflects the renewed emphasis being placed on the women’s game in the country after Angola failed to enter the qualifiers for the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cups.
Lesotho have been relatively regular competitors since the inaugural tournament in 2002, although they did not take part in the 2019 or 2021 editions.
They did not get off to the best of starts in their maiden appearance in 2002, suffering a 15-0 defeat to hosts Zimbabwe in their opener, followed by a 3-0 loss to Malawi and a 3-1 defeat to Zambia.
It did not improve significantly in 2006, as they lost 9-0 to South Africa and 3-0 to Malawi in a three-team group. They came close to semi-final qualification in 2011 when they defeated Mozambique 3-2 but lost to Malawi in their play-off decider.—Reporting by COSAFA Media; edited by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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